2
My Friend Anna
by Rachel DeLoache Williams
When Rachel DeLoache Williams first
befriends Anna Delvey in New York, she appears
to be glamorous, wealthy and generous, although
her offer to pay for dinner when they first meet is
foiled by a problem with an app. It’s a minor hiccup
that can’t stop the two from becoming inseparable,
enjoying a dizzying spin of luxury and a decadent
trip to Morocco, which is where it all begins to
go wrong. That first dinner, it turns out, was a
warning sign: Williams bails out Anna over and
over, until she has debts of almost $70,000.
And slowly, Anna begins to unravel. She is not
called Delvey, but Sorokin. She is not an heiress,
but a fraudster. The Anna who Williams thought
she knew was entirely an invention. By helping the
prosecution of Anna, Rachel regains her agency;
by relying on her friends, she learns to trust again
and what could have been a gleeful study in
supreme cynicism turns out to have a surprisingly
moral heart. (Quercus, £16.99)
3
This is Shakespeare
by Emma Smith
How do you make something new when you
know it so well that you’re sick of it? It’s a perennial
problem with Shakespeare. The plays are so
overburdened with ideas of genius, national culture
and compulsory appreciation, it’s almost impossible
to remember that they’re supposed to be enjoyable.
But Emma Smith understands that Shakespeare
should be a pleasure, not a chore, and this brisk
collection of essays on 20 of the plays is the perfect
way to rediscover Shakespeare.
With a keen focus on the plays as things to be
performed, not just read, this book brings out the
drama of Shakespeare. Smith brings a fresh battery
of references to illuminate Shakespeare (Falstaff as
Homer Simpson, Cleopatra as a Kardashian) but
never falls into “how do you do, fellow kids?”
modishness while telling us every fresh viewer –
you included – has a role in remaking each play.
A delightfully readable way to make Shakespeare
compellingly watchable. (Pelican, £20)CalmMoment.com 65book club
CalmMoment.com 65